Dave Pieklik, Levy County’s economic director, speaks to county commissioners about a future hospital.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County’s economic development director says the doctor who plans to open a 10-bed hospital with an emergency room in Chiefland has purchased the property he needs for the project.
Dave Pieklik, executive director of the Nature Coast Business Development Council, Inc., said the former hospice facility on U.S. 19 next door to the Chiefland Tax Collector’s office, has been purchased at an auction.
Pieklik, speaking to Levy County Commissioners at their Dec. 17 meeting, said the Ocala doctor who purchased the building plans to open a walk-in clinic in mid-January but the goal is to establish a hospital.
“He’s looking at mid-month next month having the walk-in clinic start up,” Pieklik said. “With this, the hospital has always been the focus. The walk-in is just entry level. Let’s get this thing open and it will evolve into a hospital.”
Pieklik said there is no timetable for opening a hospital at the site but he said an emergency room has “always been an essential component” of the future hospital. He said the plans for a hospital are an indication of the economic growth Levy County is experiencing.
Pieklik hasn’t identified the Ocala doctor planning to open a hospital in Chiefland but economic development directors typically don’t disclose that type of information in the early stages of a project. Pieklik has been more open than most of the economic development directors who preceded him concerning the projects he is working with, but his comments are often somewhat guarded to protect the confidentiality of businesses and industries thinking about moving here.
Pieklik said the vacant hospital site behind the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Chiefland was visited as a possible site for the future hospital but was ruled out due to a fence issue and other considerations. The former Hospice facility can be converted into a walk-in clinic with a few renovations, he said.
The new Urgent Care facility in front of Wal-Mart isn’t connected to the future hospital facility in the south part of town, according to Pieklik.
Levy County no longer has an operating hospital or emergency room. The current facility in Williston, Regional General Hospital, has been closed for months and shows no signs of re-opening as a hospital. The owner hasn’t paid the back property taxes. He has paid his back electric bill to the City of Williston
Big Project on Duke Energy Property?
Pieklik said a large project could be moving to the 5,000 acre Duke Energy property near Inglis if all the pieces fall into play, but it’s a big “if”.
“It would be the largest project ever seen (in Levy County),” he said. “It’s not a guarantee. There are a lot of moving parts whenever it’s a large scale project. In this case, we’re on the short list based on what the property offers and what the project will need.”
Pieklik said the short list of potential sites has been narrowed to Levy County and Orlando.
Commissioner Rock Meeks said he talked to a Duke Energy official who mentioned that Duke had looked at what it would take to make the 5,000 acre site “shovel ready” for a business or industry. At one time, Duke planned to build two nuclear reactors at the site but the company backed out of the project without ever explaining why.
Pieklik said the Duke site is 40 percent wetlands. He said Duke looked at that issue previously.
He said his office looks at target industries that the county wants to attract.
“What does the county want? What does Inglis want? It’s really subjective. What they look for is, what the number one driver has been the last five or six years in terms of talent. Is it physical engineers, chemical majors? Do we have the talent for these jobs?” Pieklik said.
He said his office has a strategic sites inventory in Levy County. In the past Pieklik said the strategic sites inventory didn’t include the former Brunswick paper site and International paper site near Chiefland. Both were large industrial sites.
Requesting Assistant
Pieklik asked commissioners for permission to hire an employee to assist him in his economic development office.
“I really can’t ignore the fact that it’s getting to be too much. I’ve been soldiering along. I don’t want to feel like I have complained, but it’s just the situation I feel I’m in. When you look at the leads (for business and industry) continuing to skyrocket and obviously the M-Cores (toll road project) will factor into that,” Pieklik said.
Commissioners didn’t respond his request for an additional staff member.
The Nature Coast Business Development Council is a private corporation that receives some tax money from Levy County Commissioners to promote economic development in the county.
———————-
Board of County Commission Regular Meeting December 17, 2019; Posted December 23, 2019
